Volus: A Review of the Financial Situation...
''A Review of the Financial Situation of the Interests of the Vol Protectorate and its Allies is one of the retrospective articles prepared by CDN members to illustrate the events and changes that occurred during the year following the Reaper War.'' A Review of the Financial Situation of the Interests of the Vol Protectorate and its Allies Composed by Farnak Archives, a Division of Elkoss Combine It is the purpose of this document to compile and analyze the economic and fiscal situation of the overall galactic community in the fallout of the so-called "Reaper War." For ease-of-translation purposes, this document will endeavour to use primarily plain terms, and attempt to communicate with the utmost of clarity. To begin, the Reaper War created a very unique, although not entirely unprecedented, situation. While standard procedure during a time of intense warfare amongst one or more major economic forces would be to shift long-term interests to economies not geared for war, with the entire galaxy prepared for war, this was unviable and nearly impossible. The Vol Protectorate, with the assistance of Elkoss Combine, attempted to the best of its ability to cope with this situation and preserve economic stability in the post-war era with minimal impact on the war effort itself. The destruction caused to the militaries of virtually all races proved highly beneficial in maintaining economic stimulus, as will be discussed later. Due to the stress of the war, numerous corporate interests have formed, disbanded, or merged. Several smaller mercenary organizations, such as Glarmah’s Band, The Rangefinders, and Harold’s Heroes have been forced to merge with each other in order to remain competitive, and even then, are struggling. Slaving interests have virtually disintegrated in the post-war climate, with only a few independents with powerful bases able to continue to operate. The Crimson Chains, from what is known about them from this time period, are expected to continue operation, although due to the nature of the organization, it is unknown in what form. Finally, concluding our section in active military corporate interests, a third set of responses have occurred, which is to integrate into government apparati to various degrees on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. The success of these interests is debatable at best and is not something that can be easily predicted at the present time. Regardless, production interests, as expected, went through a massive boom and were able to, at least briefly, stave off the bust cycle that follows the end of hostilities and demobilization. This is primarily due to the destruction caused during the Reaper War creating a need for reconstruction on a massive scale, including military interests. The resulting economic boom was not foreseen, however Elkoss Combine, at the behest of the Vol Protectorate, capitalized to the best of its abilities on it, continuing its long tradition of preserving galactic stability. There is, at least currently, a glut of armaments of all types on the market. Many temporary investments were made in arms manufacturing, and, in what has since been termed the "Elkoss Gamble," soon had the capital from these endeavours transferred into various domestic interests which are still booming as of this writing. While economic prospects appear to be going well during this time, it is unknown how long the boom cycle will last, and opinions are highly divided on conservative or high-risk financial schema. This next portion will focus principally on the developments made by the Vol Protectorate during this time period, notably its changed role as a protectorate of the Turian Hierarchy. Although the Protectorate maintains its status as the primary economic force of the Hierarchy, volus units, along with all protectorate races, are becoming increasingly common due to the losses suffered by the Hierarchy during the war, as opposed to those suffered by the protectorate and client races. A perfect example of this new role is demonstrated in the Vol Protectorate’s efforts to both compensate for the lack of Hierarchy military strength and its own raising unemployment, the dreadnought-class vessel the VPS Maliyya. The Maliyya was built-in a manner similar to the Protectorate’s existing dreadnought, with no expense spared and creating significant economic stimulus and providing long-term employment. The Maliyya is largely regarded as solely a stimulus project, although it is, at least in theory, a capable war vessel, even if this has never been tested. Never-the-less, I have toured the ship myself, and will note that its recreational facilities are truly spectacular, so, if nothing else, it may someday make a good hotel. Regardless, the attempts to balance two roles at once has taken its toll on the Protectorate, and, despite its best efforts, it is no longer quite as economically powerful as it once was, nor is it anywhere near up to the military might it is attempting to boast. Although the past financial year has held much stability and profit, the coming year is much more uncertain, and instability is predicted along with economic downturn. It is the opinion of this review that fiscal conservatism be practiced immediately, rather than attempting further gains, we should store what we have and wait out the worst of it. Category:Retrospective